What am I missing? 1930 Model A

[30 Closed Cab PU]

Originally Posted by tjmckenzie

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE.....
See attached pictures of wiring. Electrical seems to be right, tested coil and distributor. Thoughts on the wiring?

One thing I noticed but not mentioned before is that the ammeter does not flicker when key is turned but does bounce when turning the car over. Is this a red flag?

Same conditions apply:
Fuel to the intake at top of carb, I even installed a new gasket, still leaks. See attached photo. Car turns over has dry plugs, no start.

Next up is....compression test and timing?

If the ammeter is wiggling when cranking - a good thing - means the primary circuit of the ignition is functional. Points, low voltage ignition wiring, ammeter is not open, coil primary, ignition switch are OK.

0 amps with ignition on and motor not running is normal with the points open. The battery has no load unless the points closed, or lights on, horn is on, or stop lamp is activated, etc. You probably are already aware, the Starter is not routed through the ammeter. - 0 amps when points are open is also a good thing, no shorts causing a current draw.

You have spark on the spark plugs, - a good thing. Means that along with the previous above info being good, the ignition secondary is good. Rotor is installed turning since the distributor is driven off the cam shaft which opens closes the points, which causes spark.

So it looks like the ignition is functional.

So seems you have gas getting to the carb since it is leaking. Typically it will leak out the air intake. If when leaking you use a pinky finger around the inside of the air take, it should be dry unless you have over choked while starting. However your plugs are dry, which is confusing.

It could be the carb is completely plugged up. To check for this try when cranking the motor spray some Quick start/Auto starting fluid into the carb air intake. Do nor over do this, this has a tendency to wash the cylinder walls of oil/lube. If it fires/tries to run it is most likely a carb issue.

Or if you have a massive vacuum leak. To check if you have a massive leak put the palm of you hand over the carb intake and crank the motor, you should feel a lot of vacuum sucking on the palm of your hand.

You could try swapping out the carb with a known good one. If you do this swap out the fuel supply to a small separate tank (like a lawnmower gas tank) that has fresh gas. Also drain the carb float bowl in case of water. It is possible the gas is bad if has been sitting for months, and also the A gas tank could be full of rust/debris/water. You do not want to plug up a different carb. If it is the carb you can try cleaning it out and fixing the float valve issue yourself, or have it rebuilt. I recommend Jim Bullock, Texas.

https://jmacarbs.com/

Check back here, or search here on methods/recommendations on flushing the gas tank.

Hope this helps, let us know your progress.